


Received Orchids, Refused Roses

by quirkyrainbowrosequeen (orphan_account)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Broken Heart, F/M, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, One-sided Zutara, Pining, Rejection, That Should Be Me, Till Death Do Us Part, Unrequited Love, all i wanted was you, he loves me not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29623857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/quirkyrainbowrosequeen
Summary: Katara was the red rose to Mai's purple orchid, one was received while the other was refused.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Received Orchids, Refused Roses

**Author's Note:**

> I quickly wrote this as a spur-of-the-moment type of thing, so I apologize for any unpolished mistakes and grammatical errors.

Katara loved Zuko, this is something abhorrently clear to everyone but Zuko himself.

He was the person of her affections, the one who has stolen Katara's heart, and also, her best friend. She wanted them to be more than just friends but how could she ever do that when she knows that Zuko's heart belongs to another, Mai.

Mai and Zuko have known each other since they were children, both of them having far more history than what Katara has with him. Still, Katara couldn't help but to wish for Zuko to return her feelings, looking past Mai and seeing Katara as his one true love. Unfortunately, this was just a fantasy inside of Katara's head.

For why could Zuko ever want Katara when he already has his dear Mai?

Whenever he'd be having troubles with Mai, he'd always seek out Katara for company. Katara knew this was insatiable but what could she do? Bear the cold harsh pain known as rejection? She could only decide upon herself to be grateful for whatever Zuko gives her, even if she only ever feels like second best compared to Mai.

Orchids were Mai's favorite flower, specifically purple orchids. Mai wouldn't accept any other flower given to her, refusing every flower that wasn't her favorite purple orchids including a bundle of eight hundred and eighty-eight roses. Katara remembered the day when Zuko knocked on her door, where a giant bouquet of eight hundred and eighty-eight red roses was presented in front of her. They were beautiful, although they paled in comparison to the sight of seeing Zuko give Katara his signature golden smile. Katara was well aware that these roses were a secondhand gift, given to her by Zuko because Mai refused them. But, no one's ever given her any flowers in a grand gesture before. And so, she accepted those refused roses, caring for them as best as she could for a couple of weeks before they wilted.

On the day of Mai and Zuko's wedding, there were hundreds and thousands of purple orchids being placed throughout the location where the wedding took place. With Zuko and Mai both coming from wealthy old-money families, money is no object for them. Katara could still recall a particular moment in the wedding, there were some red roses in a basket which Zuko got rid of himself, throwing them away in the trash.

The sight of Zuko performing the act of discarding those beautiful flowers awakened immense pain inside of Katara. She didn't know why the feeling of pain occurred but it did.

It was only after the couple were officially husband and wife when Zuko and Mai had only an hour before they left for their honeymoon that Katara confessed to Zuko her true feelings.

"Everyone's supposed to be wishing you both happiness at this time but I can't even grant you my blessings for this marriage," Katara tells him, watching the way Zuko rapidly and harshly inhaled and exhaled.

"And why is that, Katara?!"

"It's because I only ever wanted you, Zuko. There's no other reason but this. I am in love with you and I always will be no matter what, even if you don't see me as anything more than just a friend, even if you and Mai get married, grow old together, and have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with her, and even when I'm in my last breathing moments, I shall always have you in my heart. You've done me as a fool for your love and it shall always be this way until my death, there's no other way to put it. Even if this somehow moves your heart, I'll never be enough for both, you and myself because I'll forever always be the other option. Mai's the greener grass on the other side while I'm just a field of melting iced grass."

"Katara," Zuko said her name, pronouncing it weakly as he gripped his hands onto her shoulders, his yellow eyes set on her blue ones, "I'm truly sorry but I can not accept nor return your feelings. I love you, you're my most precious best friend. I could never ask for anyone else to be my best friend, but I can't love you in the way that you want me to. I love Mai, she's my wife now and I'm her husband."

Katara's eyes began to well up, she could feel them being moisturized by her incoming tears. She slapped Zuko's hands from her shoulder, giving herself a self-pitying smile, she said to him, "It's hopeless. How could I ever believe in the idea that you ever loved me? I'm just a pitiful fool who finds herself drowned in romantic feelings for someone she can never have."

"Oh, Katara..."

"Save it, I don't need any more pity from you than I already do. I'm not happy at all but I love you, Zuko, and when you love someone, you only ever want to see them happy, even if it's not yourself who's making them happy. I hope you'll be content with Mai because that's all I can hope for now."

And with that Katara ran away from Zuko, tears pouring down her eyes as she finally gets to leave the wretched wedding. With each and every minute she's getting behind, the less pain she feels. Finally, she goes to her hotel room, crying herself to sleep.

In her dream, Katara was dressed in a red bridal kimono as she was being surrounded by red roses, the flowers of refusal. Thorns started to engulf her body, piercing into different areas of her flesh causing her to bleed. Katara shed no tears as she had none left from crying away her heartbreak of unrequited love. As the thorns punctured deeper into her body, Mai appeared. The woman was dressed in an extravagant purple kimono as purple orchids began to sprout from behind her, eventually, they were able to completely surround Mai. With the snap of Mai's fingers, appeared a giant purple orchid, and blooming inside of the flower was Zuko, dressed in a black wedding kimono. The two lovers looked adoringly into each other's eyes, never once glancing a look at Katara as if taunting her with their locked eyes of love. When they leaned in to kiss each other, Katara finally felt the thorns removed from her body. The multiple newly drilled holes caused blood to spill from her body as she began to wither alongside the red roses surrounding her. She no longer has to feel tormented refusal anymore, she was finally able to receive the pleasure of having her torturous love separate from her for good. Katara was dead, her death finally allowing her spirit to part ways with unrequited love for Zuko. The End

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually do sad endings or add in angst but I had an idea and I just worked with it, even if it's not how I desired for it to turn out to be.


End file.
